Jerusalem, Mount of Olives

Kareem Sa‘id

06/06/2005

Final Report

During May 2001 a trial excavation was conducted in the neighborhood of Ras el-‘Amud in East Jerusalem (A-3426*; map ref. NIG 22290/63090; OIG 17290/13090), in the wake of damage to antiquities when digging a pit for an electric pole. The excavation, on behalf of the Antiquities Authority and financed by the East Jerusalem Electric Company, was directed by K. Sa‘id, with the assistance of A. Hajian, (surveying and drafting), M. Argov (pottery drawing), M. Avissar (pottery consultation) and G. Solimany.

On the margins of a rocky slope, a square (4 × 5 m) was excavated, revealing a small section of a building with three extant walls (W1–W3; Fig. 1). Wall 1 (height 1.05 m, width 1.5 m) was preserved four courses high. Its northern end abutted W2, which was likewise preserved four courses high (1.55 m). Wall 3, which abutted W1 on its eastern face, was preserved three courses high (0.8 m). The walls were composed of two faces of large undressed stones (W1––0.65 × 0.70 × 0.70 m) or medium-sized stones, with a core of small stones that contained pottery fragments from the Byzantine period, including a bowl (Fig. 2:1), a cooking pot (Fig. 2:2), and a jar (Fig. 2:3).